USA

  • New York

    • EatEat: Red Rooster, New York, USA

    Red Rooster

    For my fathers 65th birthday my sister and I surprised him with a ticket to New York. The three of us went there last September for four days and had a wonderful time.

    On our last Sunday we went for a late lunch in this restaurant, recommended to us by a friend. It was one of the highlights of our trip.

    It is located in Harlem and when we arrived a jazz band was playing with a magnificent old lady at the microphone. She had a golden voice and it gave the whole place a wonderful, warm and at the same time vibrant atmosphere.

    There were many local families, all dressed up, enjoying a drink, food and each other’s company.

    The chef, Marcus Samuelsson, is a famous Swedish Ethiopian, cooking with respect for local culinary traditions.

    It has a huge half oval bar at the entrance, bookshelves at the wall and comfy chairs in the first part. The restaurant is behind the bar with great pictures and art at the walls.

    We sat close to the open kitchen and I couldn’t get the smile of my face because of the perfect combination of people, music, décor, food, light and atmosphere.

    Go to website – View on map

    OtherOther: High Line, New York, USA

    HighLine

    This was one of the most special things we experienced while in New York: walking over the High Line. Old railroad tracks that were used since the 1930’s for cargo transport are now converted into a long, elevated, strolling park and opened in Summer 2009. Winding, 10 metres above street level, over 19 streets. It gives a very original view of the city, see throughs into apartments, hotels, galleries, warehouses and the Hudson river allowing for a total new experience of the city.

    The lovely, rather wild flowers and plants are designed by Dutch garden architect Piet Oudolf. All kinds of terraces, mini shops, picnics and cultural activities are going on, there are lounge chairs awaiting you and around 26th street there is a kind of mini theatre seating where the life at 10th Avenue below is the stage through a large glass window: 10th Avenue Square.

    You can get on and off at different points, the most southern entrance is at Gansevoort /Washington street in Meatpacking district. When we were there the end of the High Line was at 30th street, but plans where already made to continue building further on the last part of the track, till 34th.

    It was hard to capture the feeling in the pictures I made, so definitely visit their website.

    The High Line gives a total happy feeling, and people seem friendlier up there. Something not to be missed!

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    At nightEatAt night & Eat: Buddakan, New York, USA

    Buddakan

    This restaurant was recommended to us by New Yorkers as the place to be. It is in the Meatpacking district where there are plenty of nice bars, restaurants, terraces and people walking from one to the other.

    When you enter the place and get adjusted by the dimmed light, you feel an instant ‘wow’. I can well imagine the SATC girls having cocktails here. It has different areas, large with huge chandeliers or more romantic alcoves. The menu is modern Asian and the crowd is mixed. The decoration is beautiful and warm. Suitable for just a drink or having dinner. But definitely walk around to see it all.

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    At nightAt night: The Plunge, New York, USA

    Plunge

    The Gansefoort hotel is located in the hip Meatpacking district and we were told that it has the coolest rooftop bar: the Plunge. And indeed! The lounge of the hotel already gives a happy feeling and when you take the elevator up to the 14th floor, you are pleasantly surprised by the glass ceiling, the swimming pool (just for hotel guests) and the terrace that gives you a 180 degrees view all over the city, other hotels with rooftop pools, the Highline park and the Hudson river.

    The cocktails are delicious and the waitresses walk on amazing heels. You can just have a drink during the day or go here in the evening for a cool night out. I wasn’t there at that time it but I bet sunset is spectacular from up here.

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    EatEat: Bottino, New York, USA

    Bottino

    On Saturday we visited many of the nice galleries in Chelsea. Well actually there are over 170 of them, mainly concentrated between W19th/29th Street and 10th/12th Avenue, so you can’t visit them all. In many of the galleries you can pick up a brochure of what is going on in that month, or go online and get informed beforehand.

    For lunch we asked around and Bottino was recommended to us, and what a good tip! We had dinner in the bar area in front of a whine bottle wall. The main dining room had a very bright, 50’s design look with lovely chairs. They serve Italian food and also have a garden to eat outdoors. A lovely discovery.

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    At nightEatAt night & Eat: Stone Street, New York, USA

    StoneStreet

    You don’t expect this when in the neighborhood of Wall Street, a small street plenty of bars and long wooden tables outside, one after the other. Here you can find people relaxing after work or taking a bite at lunch time. It has a bit of an English atmosphere and feels somewhat surreal in these surroundings. A great find when in the neighborhood.

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